Maus In the Haus: Saturday Political Soap Box 282

This is Volume 2 of Maus. It is my copy. In my Haus. I believe we have Volume 1, but I wasn't immediately able to find it - my collection is in a bit of a reorganization effort right now. It may be that Benjamin has it.

Maus is the Pulitzer Prize-winning Graphic Novel written and illustrated by Art Spiegelman. It tells of his family's experience with the Nazis and the Holocaust. It is not pretty, but it is exceptionally well and powerfully told. It uses the allegory of Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats.

If you follow my blog, you know I am an avid reader of comic books and graphic novels. So, when I tell you that, of the tens of thousands I have read, Maus ranks at the very top, that should carry some weight.

To me, the idea that the Tennesse School Board is banning this book is utterly horrifying. This critical and seminal book, which effectively shows the horrors of the Holocaust, particularly to young readers, is being banned from the places where it could do the most good. Its banning effectively either silences or trivializes this important event. An event that must be seared in all our brains so that it CAN NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

In some ways, this is just another salvo in the idiotic culture wars this nation has to endure. The authoritarian side of the ledger (I'm sorry - it's hard to even call them Republicans anymore - they've gone so far off the bend beyond simple advocacy of conservative principals) is constantly bringing up distractions to get us to ignore the real needs in this country - universal health care, climate change, the income gap, fighting COVID, adequate and affordable child care, racial inequality.  

Now, led by Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, they would like to quash the teaching of anything that remotely discomforts white people. Can't dwell on slavery being bad. Can't point out how our laws and legal systems reinforce racial inequality. Can't talk about how our genocide of indigenous peoples was one of the inspirations and templates used by the Nazis for the Holocaust.

And, yes. I know these culture war issues are brought mainly to gin the rest of us up. They love our outrage and feed off of it. Then, they use it for fundraisers and to further divide us.

So, congratulations,  It worked. I'm ginned up and angry.

But you won't win. I already have Maus, and Benjamin can read it anytime, again and again. Maus is now #2 on the Amazon Best Seller list. That's of ALL books, not just graphic novels. I'm sure more young readers are seeking this out more than ever before.

Of course, this is not the only time that a Tennessee School Board has acted out in a censoring, moronic fashion. In the 1920s, they tried to ban the teaching of evolution. This led to one of the most famous courtroom trials of all time, the Scopes Monkey Trial, prosecuting a teacher for even mentioning the possibility of evolution. The trial featured the rhetorical skills of the most successful defense lawyer of that time, Clarence Darrow, and three-time Presidential candidate and devout fundamentalist, William Jenning Bryan.

I know about this because, in 9th Grade, my Drama class did an in-class one act from the play based on the trial, Inherit the Wind, where I got to play the Clarence Darrow part. To this day, it is hands down my favorite play. It's been my great white acting whale to play one of the two lawyers in a community theatre production. In the late 70s, when I lived in Cartersville, Georgia, they performed the play. I tried out and got the part of Scopes, the Tennessee teacher. Odd, playing a part with a distinct Southern accent when I was a Yankee that had just moved to the South. But, hey, I'm a good actor. What else can I say?

I've waited patiently for another theatre to perform it, but it does not look like that will happen. Too many male parts. Too controversial. And what does that say about the time that now Inherit the Wind is too controversial to perform?

Come to think of it, I don't know if a school system would be allowed to use it in the current environment. After all, one of the characters uses the word damn. And it could be seen as critical to fundamentalist/evangelical Christianity (although the play is much more balanced than you would think). So, if I were a student in school now, I might not even know about the Scopes Monkey trial.

Not that the time I was educated was perfect. I didn't even know about the Tulsa massacre until recent years. Much of the Civil Rights era was skipped over*, and even living up North in Michigan, the teaching of the Civil War was infested by Lost Cause mythology and a diminishment of the importance of slavery as a cause.

In the end, Maus will survive. Censorship of something this important will backfire.  

But I am so tired of the culture wars. So, so tired and angry.

FIND MAUS.

READ MAUS. 

REMEMBER WHAT IT TELLS YOU.

DON"T LET THEM ERASE HISTORY.

*it was skipped over in part because it was still ongoing when I was in school.  They tended to run out of time in American History class and tried to squeeze in the last twenty to thirty years into the last week.

 

Let the Parade Pass You By

 

It was Benjamin's birthday weekend.

And for his birthday (now 20 - no more teenagers!) he likes to go to Chamblin Bookmine.  I am a bookstore connoisseur, and for my money, the Bookmine is as good or better than any bookstore I've been in, including the Strand in NYC and Powell Books in Portland, Oregon (this is especially true for used books).  Masks are required, and it's not very crowded, so social distancing is easy.

To get to Chamblin in Jacksonville, we travel a road that takes us past the town of Callahan. We had to detour around the town of Callahan because they had a Christmas Parade.  

Yes, for real.  A Christmas Parade, in the middle of the most virulent part of the Pandemic.  A parade where masks were few and far between,  A parade where social distancing was non-existent.

I glimpsed the main drag of the parade, and it was packed.  Thousands crammed together, and all I could think of was a Hieronymous Bosch painting, displaying the horrors of the apocalypse.

In the picture above, two of the paraders have masks on - well, costumes, at any rate.  Few, if any, are detectable in the crowd.

Here is another crowd shot.  Shriners in their funny little vehicles.  And, they're maskless, of course.  As is the vast majority of the packed crowd.

An unmasked 97-year-old veteran rides a bike through the parade.  I admire him.  I admire his service.  I pray that he stays safe. I'm not positive, but I think he may have a mask below his chin.  Perhaps he put it on when people got closer.

Kudos to the girl in front with the candy bucket, who is wearing a mask, and the one person in the audience I could see wearing a mask (you could play Where's Mask-O and see if you could find it too).

No, I did not take these pictures.  I stole from the interwebs, using Callahan Christmas Parade 2020.

And no, this isn't the only Christmas Parade going on around here.  Blackshear had theirs last night. Waycross will have theirs on December 12th.

There are events all over.  Some done safely, others not.  There are plans for an ice skating rink (yeah - South Georgia and ice skating - try not to think about it too much).

And yes, outdoor events, particularly if masked and not too crowded, are safer than indoor events.

But indoor events are going on too. Some area churches have complete disregard for public safety.

If God is telling you to not wear a mask and behave as if there is no Pandemic and that your personal liberty to live and worship as you please is paramount, disregarding the safety and well-being of others - I hate to break it to you - but THAT AIN"T GOD TALKING TO YOU.  You have seriously got your spiritual wires crossed up.

For those of you who still care to protect themselves and others - don't give up!  Let this parade pass you by, and take care of yourself and your loved ones.  

Just because everyone else is behaving like a self-centered lunatic doesn't mean you have to join in.

Wear a mask.  Socially distance.  You don't have to be a hermit. Use caution, and give a damn about others. That's all we're asking.

Southeast Georgia Winter Tuesday Tidbits

This morning, it was 29 degrees, and the feels like was 23!

There was a tiny bit of frost on my car.

It was a little chilly, or as my Southeast Georgia friends would call it, a MEGASTORM!

It won't stay that cold for very long.  It rarely does.  There is no snow.  When it drops this low, it's a dry cold.  When it warms back up to the 60s?  That's when we will have precipitation.

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Personal Health Week Two:  weight continuing to slowly creep down, same with blood pressure, and finally, glucose levels have joined the decline party!  Still have miles to go, and I have to accept that the changes I'm making are permanent.

Saw myself in a mirror at church and realized, with horror, that the part that I am most eligible to play is Alfred Hitchcock. Oy.

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Streaming?  Season Four of Van Helsing.  One of those I started and now, by God, I am going to see it through.  Not the worst series in the world.  Just good enough to keep me intrigued enough to see what is going to happen next.  At least the vampires in it are not glowing boy toys.

Reading?  The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. This is a trial/legal drama, one that was made into a movie a few years back with Matthew McConaughy.  This may be how he got to be a sponsor of Lincoln cars and do all the those Lincoln commercials.  Trust me, the book makes a lot more sense than those bizarre commercials.

Movies?  Saw Dolittle at the theatres.  Look, it's a children's/family movie, so you can't expect perfection.  It was entertaining, with some impressive celebrity voiceovers.  Robert Downey Jr.'s accent, however - it would have been better just to claim that Dolittle was an American living in England.  Growing up, the Doctor Dolittle books were my favorite children's literature.

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The trail to convict and remove the greatest modern evil this nation has ever faced starts today, or as Midnight Mitch McConnell calls it, the Big Nothing.  He'll do everything thing he can to shunt it aside, make it run at one in the morning, short circuit it, bury it, and proceed to Trump's grand exoneration speech.

And my Trumpeteer friends will be going, "See?  We told you there was nothing there!

Sigh.  The whole world has become the OJ trial, with each of us seeing only what we want to.  Trump's entire team is filled with TV lawyers and performers designed to obscure and deny the truth.

If nothing else, we'll get to find out if the term moderate Republican means anything anymore.  I don't know what disgusts me more,  The rabid true believers like Lindsey Graham, or the woosies who feign objection and then just faint and fall in line.

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Benjamin is back at college once again.  Alison is at work.  I'm working more, although I am stubbornly taking today off.  How much more I can do that, I don't know.  But I need to begin serious editing of The Extra Credit Club.

Oh, and there might be a trial or something on TV.

Or, thanks to Midnight Mitch, I might need to gear up for a late night.

Can't Stop the Wednesday Wanderings

Gotta write!

Yes, even on those days without a theme or purpose, sometimes I just gotta exercise the writing muscle and scribble down whatever, and hope that my few faithful fans persevere through the wanderings.

Let's start with the almost randomly selected picture above.  Yes, I love to be surrounded by books!  It's not "in-fashion" anymore, even among readers (many don't keep what they read, or use an e-reader).  I don't care.  I want to be surrounded by books.  No, my home does not look like a sloppy labyrinth.  They are contained to bookshelves, for the most part, neatly stacked and identified.  Alison's excellent taste in decorating and antiques comes through a lot more than as a cavern for book hoarding.  And, believe it or not, as much as I keep, I have given away about ten times more.  As much as I want to, I don't keep everything I read.

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Theater is a-comin'!  Two shows in October!  First, WACT's Murder on the Orient Express the first two weekends in October,  And then later in the month, closer to Halloween, Purlie Production puta on Dracula.

I am in Murder in the Orient Express.  I am supposed to be learning my lines.  Monday's rehearsal was off-book.  I don't do a lot of painting (filling in my line with the gist of what I'm supposed to say but not necessarily the exact wording as written by the playwright), so I have a lot more gaps sometimes, because I can't remember the precise word I'm supposed to say, and it's very difficult for me to paint in substitutes.

Part of it is I like to be faithful to what the playwright has written.  I figure he/she must have written the line that way for a reason, and who am I to change it?  But mostly it's just a learning style.  I don't think I could change it if I wanted to.

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Sports update!  Atlanta United is on a break (soccer scheduling is weird) but remains in contention for a playoff spot, possibly even first!

Alison's former favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, continue their slide out of her radar.  We tried to watch some of their opening game and didn't make it through the first half before giving up.  It looks like they're in for another rough year.

The Lions tied.  Some are upset that they had a lead and then lost it, but I'm like .... a tie - that's a better start than a lot of years!  I'll take it!

Finally, the Michigan Wolverines are 2 - 0.  Their National Championship hopes are alive and well!  Yeah.  That won't last long the way they're playing unless they switch to a high school football league.

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The Presidency continues to rapidly deteriorate.  I can't even keep up with the scandals and sheer stupidity and meanness. How protected are the Trumpeteer's media sources that they can't see that we're being swallowed up by the madness?

I really would like to list out the horrible things in just the last week, but what is the point?  Nothing alters the Trumpeteer's delusionary attachment.  It's going to sink us all, and I don't know what to do about it.

Meanwhile, the Democratic contest is slowly consolidating.  The next debate will have ten instead of twenty.  You can stay in the race if you didn't qualify for the debate, but your odds are impossibly long.  Biden, despite occasional gaffes, remains the frontrunner.  Warren and Sanders are second and third and vary between those two spots depending on the poll.  Buttigieg and Harris line up next, usually in the high single digits.   Another shift down is Booker, O'Rouke, Yang, and to a lesser degree, Klobuchar, Gabbard, and Castro.  No one else really registers at all.

I'm Team Warren but make no mistake.  I'll vote for whoever opposes Trump, or vote against whomever the Republicans pick.  Yes - whomever.  I'm still not convinced that Trump will be their nominee.  I think it's increasingly likely that he resigns under the condition he gets a full pardon from Pence.

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Boy, I could wander the whole day away!  I have a lot brewing in my head.  But I've decided to put in a few hours at my accounting job today, so I suppose I should wrap this up.

Wanderingly yours,

T. M. Strait

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Just a loosey-goosey smattering of some of my favorite things.


Super-Heroes?

         DC - Superman

          Marvel - Kitty Pryde

Favorite TV Show of All Time?

         Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Favorite Current TV Show?

          Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

Favorite Spy?

          James Bond (Sean Connery #1, Daniel Craig #2)

Favorite Spy TV Show?

          The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Favorite Comic Book of All Time?

           Tomb of Dracula

Favorite Current Comic Book?

            Action Comics

Favorite Movie Comedy?

            Blazing Saddles

Favorite Movie?

           Star Wars

Favorite Fantasy Movie?

           The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Favorite Sport?

            MLS Soccer

Favorite Team?

            Atlanta United

Favorite Player?

            Josef Martinez

Classic Favorite Player?

            Al Kaline

Favorite Writer?

             Stephen King

Next Favorite Writer?

             Margaret Atwood

Next Favorite Writer?

           George R. R. Martin

Classic Favorites?

            H. G. Wells, Jim Thompson, Joseph Heller (ok, this is a hard one to narrow)

Favorite Fiction Book?

            The Stand by Stephen King (only book I've read three times)

Ok, that's a start.  Most are going...ewwww!

Nevertheless, I may do it again.

I didn't even get to food.

Entertainment Weekly Becomes Entertainment Weakly

Entertainment Weekly is now a monthly magazine.  I don't think they're going to change their name.  It's another sign of the apocalypse. 

Laugh at me if you want, but I have been a charter subscriber to Entertainment Weekly.  That's right.  I've had a subscription since Day One, way back in February 1990.

Why, you might ask?  Well, first, anyone who knows me, either personally or through this blog, knows that I am a devout performer and consumer of stories.  Entertainment Weekly was a great way to let me know what's available and what's coming - in books, TV, movie, music and comic books.

Also fundamental to me was the rich statistical nature of the magazine. It was steeped in lists and rankings and what were the bestselling books, the box office of the most recent movies, the TV shows with the highest Neilsen ratings, the most popular music albums by genre.  It was a statistical feast, AND I LOVED IT.

Iy would give letter grades to the newest entertainments.  Sometimes I was not matched closely with their critics, but oftentimes I was, particularly in television.

Over time, they moved more and more away from the emphasis on a statistical bent, doing more and more fluff pieces, the kind you find in People magazine.  I'm sure that one of the factors behind this was the increasing availability of statistics on the internet.  You can get detailed movie box office information through Box Office Mojo, or The TV Rating Guide, or similar websites.

Yeah, great.  Stats on the Net.  To me, it's not the same.  I loved getting the base data every week in my favorite magazine. 

An example outside of the world that used to be covered by Entertainment Weekly is what's happened to me in regards to baseball,  I loved to follow baseball but I did it almost entirely by statistics I found in the newspaper, especially USA Today.  Now, I don't have access to those (and when I have found them, I see that they seem to have moved away from statistics as well), and I find my contact with baseball reduced to zero.  I see it so little, I'm still shocked every time I see that the Houston Astros are now in the American League.  When the hell did that happen?

Looking through the new monthly Entertainment Weekly, I find it almost entirely worthless.  No stats, tons of fluff pieces (do I really want to read twenty-some pages about any show, particularly those I don't even watch?).  There are a few grades of upcoming things, but they're not very complete, and how can you be timely if you only come out once a month?

The decline of magazines has been a hard thing to watch.  Almost all the weeklies are having a tough time (except maybe the lurid like the National Enquirer, blasting pro-Trump headlines and celebrity dirt).  Most of the magazine sections at grocery stores and drug stores and even booksellers are becoming smaller and smaller.  And even in that small space the number of weeklies and even monthlies are becoming fewer and fewer, with what little space there is being taken over by specialty one-shots that are glossier but cost upwards of $20!

Yes, we have come a long way from the days of Life, Look, Newsweek, Time, Saturday Evening Post, and so many more.  Yes, I know.  Time marches on, even for Time magazine.

I, for one, will miss them.


P.S.

For those concerned about the expense of a weekly magazine, I always found ways to get EW at a heavily discounted rate.  Most of the time, I got a "professional rate," you know - being a CPA and supposedly using it in the lobby of my successful, prominent practice.  Please don't tell them anything different.

Getting Lost in the Mine

It was one of those rare twice-a-year Saturdays.  One where we travel to Jacksonville to load up on books from the Chamblin Bookmine.

It may not be the biggest bookstore on Earth, but it sure feels that way when you are in its rambling corridors.  You see how the aisle gently curves so you cannot see the end of the corridor?  The whole store is like that - a mysterious jumble of corridors and sections, sometimes with combinations and connections you wouldn't expect.  Christianity is near human sexuality, near the juvenile section is Presidential Histories.  You can wander from graphic novels to travel books. 

I have been to two of the bookstores that are bragged about the most as being among the best in the country.  One was the Strand in New York City.  The other was Powell Books in Portland, Oregon.  Both were huge, impressive bookstores.  But both are in more modern, carefully laid out buildings.  They have multiple floors, and special rooms for rare books.  They have attentive staff, and clearly laid out departments for trading and selling books.  The feel fantastic, and I loved being in them.  At Powell's, I was able to give them my book for store credit, so that History of the Trap can be on their shelves for sale!

They're marvelous, but they're not an adventure.  Chamblin Bookmine is an adventure.  It's like a Dungeons & Dragons game for the book lover.  There is always something new and exciting to discover.

They have a wide variety of older books.  I have been slowly collecting some of my favorite authors there - the books don't have to be new or in-print.  They often have both the more popular works, but also the more obscure.  I have been collecting books by H.G. Wells, Sinclair Lewis, Upton Sinclair, Jim Thompson and Margaret Atwood, just to name a few.

If you live near Jacksonville, or are there for any reason, and you love books, please give Chamblin Bookmine a visit.  An adventure awaits you!

Reader's Paradise

I love books.  I love their smell and feel.  I love to read them and treasure them and be surrounded by them.  When I dream, I dream of being in the middle of endless rows of bookshelves, shelves so high that you need a ladder to access them all.

I've tried Kindle, the modern e-readers that allow to carry an infinite number of books in the palm in your hand.  I've tried them, and I've failed.  Cold electronic type cannot compete with cracking open a spine of a book. turning to whatever page you want, cozying down into a comfortable chair with it, coffee cup steaming, ready to be transported to another world and place.

Not only do I love books, I really love bookstores.  A quality bookstore, new or used, where I can easily lose a day.  The more spread-out, the more maze-like,  the more jumbled, the better.  Sadly, these type of bookstores are slowly disappearing, especially from small towns.  The last used bookstore in my home area closed up several years ago.

I understand the nature of American capitalism.  I understand when sales and interest decline, they cannot be sustained.  But I sure do miss them.  I made a comment once about how this area can't sustain one decent bookstore, but we have dozens of auto parts stores.  It's odd to me, as I have no interest in auto part stores, unless my battery dies and I need one quick, but I was quickly told by friends how necessary they all were, and I shouldn't be complaining.  And they were right.  If there wasn't enough business for so many stores, market competition would drive some of them out of business.

So, yeah, I understand the business reasons.  That doesn't stop me from missing it, and wishing we could have one.  I used to get itchy if I couldn't go to a bookstore or comic shop (now even harder to find than bookstores) at least once a week.  Now, everything's online, which is just not the same experience at all.

If only you could go someplace and get the same experiences and feeling that you could from a good bookstore!

Thankfully, there is.

It's called the public library.  

There are shelves of books to get lost in.  They often have book sales in which you can fill your own shelves.  They often have cushy chairs, and nooks where you can read and escape.  

They have friendly librarians who can help you find what you're looking, or help you discover the perfect book you didn't even know was there.  They can help you find books that aren't at the library, and often arrange to bring it in so you can borrow it.

They have book clubs, and people with like interests meeting.  They have story reading time for children, and summer activities, and guest authors, and access to things beyond books - including the Internet, films, music, and audio.

No, it's not a perfect substitute.  I wish they would serve coffee and refreshments (some libraries have experimented with this, to mixed results).  It would be swell as a source to buy new books you were interested in, perhaps a lend and buy program.  And it would be nice if the depths of in-library book offerings would be stronger and a little more diverse.

These changes may come in time.  Meanwhile, if you are me, and jonesing for a bookstore visit. let this be a serviceable substitute.

And who knows?  The more of us who visit, the more of us who borrow, participate, and buy, the more interesting and stronger our public libraries will become?

Well, I've convinced myself.  That's where I'm going - the public library!  See you there!

 

What Do I Write About?

What do I write about?

The weather?  I had a strong streak of weather related posts going there for awhile,  But now we have our first day here of weather approaching early fall/late summer temps ( projected high 73).  There are no active hurricanes hurtling towards us, and the horrible wildfires in California may be receding. Areas hit by devastation continue to slowly recover, except for Puerto Rico, whose recovery is being hampered by the bigoted, hateful reactions of the President.

Politics?  What else can I say?  No matter what he does, the Trumpeteers stay strong in their delusional state.  I'm sure my readership has suffered by losing those who don't want their beautiful minds disturbed by constant reference to the horrible mistake so many have made, and have been unable to own up to the terrible consequences of their decision, and even more brutally, their continued support of that vile being.

Fiction and poetry?  In the last day I have prepared a new poem and story to enter in to the Okefenokee Writer's Guild writing contest.  But I probably won't put those on the blog until after the contest results are announced. Hopefully, I'll write some other new things in the next two weeks. 

My semi-retirement?  Yeah, somehow I'm finding less time than I thought I would have.  It's good to be busy, though.  But I do need to structure the time better to achieve some longer term goals.  I'm going to reach my hour cap this week, so I should be able to have more time next week, and get my secondary careers into higher gear.  I  should also note the Higgnison & Paulk is moving next week to a new location.  Everything is being boxed up this week.

My health?  I try not to post too much about that.  I don't want to seem like a kvetcher.  I'm too fat, and I'm still having a rough time getting a handle on it.  I hurt my back last weekend, and my movement is limited.  It hurts particularly when I get up to move after sitting or laying down for awhile.  This morning, I have to watch how I sit or it hurts while I'm writing.  It's all good, though.  I've had it before, and it does fade with time.  I hope soon, because I would like to get back to walking.

Sports?  I'm close to abandoning football.  Atlanta Falcons can't hold a lead (STILL), the Detroit Lions are just plain cursed, the Michigan Wolverines are proving they are not a national championship caliber team.  But hey - Go Dawgs!  And then there's the whole injury and concussion thing.  In other sports - I am excited that Atlanta United is going to the playoffs in their inaugural season!  Woohoo!  Both Alison and I have caught soccer fever, thanx and a hat's tip to my son, Doug!

TV and movies?  Still catching up from so many nights spent at the community theater.  And haven't been to a movie since The Kingsman sequel.  It and Blade Runner 2049?  Nope - haven't seen them yet.  Benjamin likes The Gifted.

Reading?  Slowly reading a biography of Thomas Jefferson  and Quest for the Spark, a novel based on Jeff Smith's Bone series.  I'm quite a bit behind on my comic book reading.  The new Superman comic books are the balm.

So, yeah, basically nothing to write about.

Maybe better luck tomorrow.

Oh, The Places We'll Go!

An amazing little library I found in Pasadena, California about two years ago. 

Oh, the places you'll go!

I've always loved libraries.  Spending time with collections of books is in my blood.

My Dad, the high school principal, would take me up to work with him on Saturdays and I would happily spend time in the school library, by myself, alone, roaming through the collected adventures of mankind.  Books of mythology, of history and adventure, of fact and fiction.  I could traverse the whole world in just a few hours.

The most frequently recurring dream I have is that there is a secret stairway in the closet of my home, and that it leads to a large underground library. where I happily roam the stacks until I awake.

In college, I loved exploring the huge multi-floored libraries of the University of Michigan.  I would try to study my assigned school work, but often the pageantry of books would be too much, and my attention would wander.

Later, I was accepted into the School of Library Science at Emory University, but life took me on a different course. I often wonder what things would have been like had I stuck with it.

On a trip to Pasadena, California, to visit with my film editor son, Greg, I saw near the sidewalk of a residential area, a decorated wooden box  labeled "Little Free Library."  Insides it's clear door were books that people were swapping - leave a book, pick a book - expressing the communal joy of reading and sharing.

But that was a California idea, too fancy and artsy for the likes of Georgia.

Or so I thought.

 

Lo and behold!  We now have a Little Library box in Blackshear City Park!  A beautiful box, near the children's playground, soon to be stuffed with wonderful adventures to be shared and loved!

This Little Library is courtesy of the efforts, among others, of the Friends of the Library, and to my late friend, David Rollison.

I am so grateful for their efforts.  It helps confirm that Blackshear is indeed a very special town.  And I will always think fondly of David when I see it.

Tax season has kept me from many things, but soon I will have to visit. and pick up a book or two, and leave a couple for others.

Oh, yes!  The places we'll go!

Thank you, Friends of the Library.

Thank you, David.

I believe this is Sandra Deal-  the Governor's wife, Sara Rollison  (I know that one for sure) and Stephanie Bell,  I will come back and correct if I am wrong.

Blockbuster Weekend and Other Monday Musings

Yes, we were part of the millions that saw Jurassic World this weekend.  We went to the time and expense to see it at an IMAX theater in 3-D.

Was it worth it?

Oh, yes.  Very much so.

It was a formulaic thrill ride, with stereotypical characters, but that didn't stop it from being very impressive indeed.  It felt like you were visiting a real theme park, and the dinosaurs seemed very real, with characters and expressions that almost topped their human counterparts.

This movie is the reason that it is still worth taking in the big screen experience.  I love the movies.  I love the thrill ride.  It's the reason I set up the Facebook group Ripping Good Yarns, to celebrate the joy of the storytelling art forms, and a love of melodrama.  Enjoy the group if you can find it.


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We also visited Chamblin Bookmine in Jacksonville.  I have been to many bookstores all over the country, but I have never been to one larger and more intriguing than this labyrinth of books only about an hour and a half from where I live.  It's maze-like structure and almost underground feel is the closest I come to achieving my one great, recurring dream, of a huge underground library that exists beneath my house.


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Saturday night we ate at the Strickland's, a new family in our church (well, they have been there a year or so), who wanted to share a meal with church members.  They opened up their home, and three or four dozen of us had a great meal and wonderful conversation.

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Benjamin and I binged the last three episodes of The Flash.  It was fantastic, and I was thrilled beyond measure of how Jay Garrick's Flash helmet came out of the time vortex.  My theory is that Barry Allen's mother is a Garrick, and that the Speed Force is at least in part inherited.  But we'll see next season!

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Speaking of theories, another off the hook season finale of Game of Thrones was on last night.  For those worried about it's ending, let me remind you of a few things...1) Danerys is fire 2) Jon SNOW is ice 3) the subtitle of the book series is A Story of Fire and Ice 4) Ghost 5) Bran 6) Mellisandre.  Just chill and let the story take it's course.

The final three episodes of Game of Thrones this season has been among the very best television episodes I have ever seen, from ANY series.  They have diverged some from the books, but have still remained true to the central theme.  I'm willing to love both the books and the TV show, each on their own terms.

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It was a good weekend, but it was a failure as far as fiction writing goes.  I only completed three paragraphs on a Crowley Story.  I hope I can get back on course.  I am anxious to finish my second novel.

Until next time,

T. M .Strait

Leslie Crane, Featured OHC Writer for January 2014

Sometimes, if you really love to write, you have to be willing to to go behind the couch to do it.

Leslie Crane, AKA L Thornhill Crane, has done that.

Leslie will be the Okefenokee Writer's Guild's first selection to have their works shown at the Exhibit receptions at Okefenokee Heritage Center.  This first exhibition will be this Thursday from 5:30 to 7 PM.

Leslie is married, the mother of two, and is a full time teacher.  Even though she is very busy, and he life is full, she still finds the time to write stories and even novels.  Sometimes she'll go behind the couch in the living room, and while her children are watching TV, will write from her laptop.

Leslie's specialty is Christian fiction, and does a wide variety within that genre, including historical, contemporary, and even some with the hint of the supernatural.  She has two self-published novels, which are pictured above.  The Life I Left Behind is in part the result of a dare on her student's part to write a "Christian vampire" story.  Come to Me Like Rain is a historical novel, with romantic overtones, and is set in South Georgia in 1915.  It is a thematically rich novel, and deals with many issues, like racism, abuse, depression and guilt.  Coming soon is Tied to the Draw. a modern day retelling of the story of Hosea set in the South Georgia town of Nine Run.

Some of Leslie's writings are also available on Wattpad, and her own blog, www.mycornerlthornhillcrane.blogspot.com

Leslie is a French teacher at Wayne County High School, and is originally from Alabama (to the best of my knowledge, there was no banjo on her knee), and has lived in South Georgia since 2001.  She lives in Screven, Georgia, and is a member of both the OHC Writer's Guild, and Wayne County Writer's Guild.

Please come see her Thursday and hear an excerpt from her work.  Her first two novels will be available for sale, and there will be other Guilds who will have works on display.  Come celebrate the arts with us!

UPDATE:  This event took place last night (Thursday Jan 9) and was a great start to our Featured Writer series.  She did an awesome reading from her latest book, and everyone was very impressed.  The Photography Guild had some great photos on display, and there were some tasty vittles there.

Ripping Good Yarns: 2013 Book Hall of Fame WINNER!

The results are in!

First - a summary of winners from past categories -

Ripping Good Yarns TV Hall of Fame

2012     M*A*S*H

2013   Seinfeld

Ripping Good Yarns Movie Hall of Fame

2012  Star Wars

2013 The Wizard of Oz

Ripping Good Yarns Book Hall of Fame

2012  To Kill A Mockingbird

The results of this year's Book Hall of Fame vote:

Receiving no votes:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Receiving 6% each:

The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

Receiving 13%:

The Stand by Stephen King

Receiving 19% each:

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery

And this year's winner, with 25% of the vote:

The Catcher In the Rye by JD Salinger

An amazing book, and like last year's book, it is a book that stands out as the singular achievement of the author's career.  It really was an opening bell to youth culture in this country, and was an insightful look into teen angst.  It is one of the most read and published American fiction books, and also one of the most censored from public and school libraries.  If there has been a successful movie or theatrical adaption of this, I am not aware of it.

And there you have it.  Three Hall of Fames, each with their initial two entries.  Keep checking in with Ripping Good Yarns for the 2014 votes for TV and Movie and Book Hall of Fame.  Meanwhile, reach into your bookshelf or local library and catch up on one of these great books today!

2013 Final Vote for Book Lover's Hall of Fame

Ripping Good Yarns: Final Vote Book Lover's Hall of Fame

PLEASE VOTE!

The nominations have been made and now I need your input as to this year's Hall of Fame winner, to join previous winner To Kill A Mockingbird.

There were some people who were very helpful in offering nominations for this year's selection.  I am very, very grateful to them.  If your favorite is not in the mix, please be sure to be a part of the nominating process next year.

Books that received nominations from multiple people were given strongest consideration. The nominating overall was somewhat limited so my hand is pretty heavy in it too, I'm afraid.  I also for this year eliminated series that were still ongoing, like George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice and Diana Gabaldon's The Outlander Series. 

So please vote for one of the following.  If you wish, you can divide your vote among one or more books, and I will apportion accordingly,  And yes, I know about apples and oranges.  Having done similar contests for several years on Facebook one cannot help but know about apples and oranges.  But that is the nature of the beast..

Please vote from the following nominees:: 

The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling - a highly entertaining series of books, popular with children and adults alike.  How many books do you know of that have young and old lined up at midnight waiting for the moment the book is first on sale?  It is fascinating to watch the characters age and mature, as they have to handle more and more adversity.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving -  Young Owen Meany hits a foul ball while playing baseball in the summer of 1953 that kills his best friend's mother.  John Irving's Dickensian storytelling at it's best.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - the entire trilogy.  Revolutionized the way I look at books and inspired a great deal of my own writing.  Samwise to me is one of the greatest characters in literature.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery - a young orphan girl grows up on Prince Edward Island.  Despite my lack of affinity for these type of books, I grew to love this character and her adopted father, Matthew, when I did the play version at Flying Dragon.

The Stand by Stephen King - best post-apocalypse story ever.  A great journey that I have reread a few times, it swirls with well-defined characters, exciting events, and a surprisingly spiritual framework.  It's one of those rare books that I never tire of re-reading.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - we may never have had a better writer in America, and this is best book.  A great journey through Americana, the story of Huck and Jim is one for the ages..

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith - coming of age in the big city of New York...

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells - the best work by the writer who began the genre of modern science fiction.

Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger - a more intense, personal coming of age book..

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - a fabulous story about wealth, class and privilege in the 1920s.

There you have it!  I know!  Many great books and authors missing!  All I can tell you is to be sure to nominate next year.  But this year, to make this work, I really, really, really need your vote.  Please vote here, on Facebook, or in private message.

I intend to keep this open for at least a week, and then on until I get at least ten votes.  You may see this repeated ad nauseum on Facebook, so be prepared!

Let the voting begin!

Ripping Good Yarns: Book Lover's Hall of Fame 2013

Last year's winner and out first entrant into the Book Lover's Hall of Fame.

I'm going to go ahead and take a chance.

Earlier, I started a Ripping Good Yarns TV Hall of Fame.  The 2012 winner and first entrant into that was M*A*S*H.  The 2013 winner was Seinfeld.

Then I started a Ripping Good Yarns Movie Hall of Fame.  The 2012 winner and first entrant into that was Star Wars.  The 2013 winner was The Wizard of Oz.

Last year I started Ripping good Yarns Book Lover's Hall of Fame.  It did not receive quite the support the first two Hall of Fames did, but it was more popular than I anticipated it being.  Huzzah!

Worthy entries, but the contests have not generate the participation I had hoped for.  Certainly the number of voters that I had did not even match well with the page views on the blog, or the Facebook exposure I gave them.  But I plowed through anyways, because Rome wasn't built in a day, and these things take time to build. 

Nevertheless, this one is risky.  But it's something I want to do, and I do know of a number of book fans who are Strait Line viewers and/or Facebook friends.  So here is the final grand Hall of Fame category - BOOKS.

This opening post represents the beginning of the nomination process.  Please comment below your favorite book or book series.  The top five to ten will be selected for the final vote.

The book should be fiction.  No autobiographies, non-fiction, history, self-help, cookbooks, etc.  But don't over think this.  If it's something you like and you're not sure of it's category, go ahead and nominate it anyways.  I will sort that out.

Some of my own nominations follow: 

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell - great dystopian novels that I read in high school.  Although neither of these visions became completely true, many elements they brought up are ones where  you can see their influence on modern culture.

Salem's Lot by Stephen King - a vampire story the way it should be done.  I ordered this book to complete a list of five free books to join a book club without really knowing what it was.  I started reading this and could not stop until I was finished.  One of the most sensational, intense reading experiences of my life.  Great writing and vampires with real teeth.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - the entire trilogy.  Revolutionized the way I look at books and inspired a great deal of my own writing.  Samwise to me is one of the greatest characters in literature.

The Game of Thrones by George R R Martin - a complicated but brilliant and accessible tapestry.  Written on a huge canvas, he draws you in with the multitude of vibrant characters and it's dizzying unpredictability.  I dare you to start the first book, get to about page 75, and then stop reading.  You won't be able to do it.  I have not lost this challenge yet.  The only flaw with this series, called The Song of Fire and Ice, is that it is still ongoing, and the author is maddeningly slow in putting out new books.

The Stand by Stephen King - best post-apocalypse story ever.  A great journey that I have reread a few times, it swirls with well-defined characters, exciting events, and a surprisingly spiritual framework.  It's one of those rare books that I never tire of re-reading.

Looking back over this list, I see that these are all 20th century books, and most of which would not be considered classic literature.  I will go back and mull over some more classic literature and recommend some books from that within the next week.

Meanwhile, I encourage your nominations!  It's okay to nominate books that have already been nominated.  In fact, it may be the only way to sort the top group for the actual voting. 

Please nominate by comment here or on Facebook.  I also take private messages, personal conversations, and bribes are welcome (just kidding!).

Let the nominations begin!

(I hope)

Ripping Good Yarns: OCD Book Selection Part Dos!

Well, last time was son incredibly popular (NOT), I thought...what the heck!  Let's do it again!

What do I read next?

Book lovers have their own different methods for determining that.  Some may go to the library and pick something they fancy.  Some may peruse ebook titles anddownload something new.  Some go to a great local bookseller, like Waycross' fabulous Read Me Again Books,  and pick out something that looks good, or they're advised to based on a knowing clerk's evaluation of their interests.  Others hear about books from their friends, and want to read them so they can share.  Others see a movie and then want to follow up with a book.

A handful may have actually bought a few books ahead, and pick out the one they are most interested in at the time they peruse their collection.

I, of course, do none of those things.  My selection method is individual to me, and I don't necessarily recommend it to anybody else.  It is something I enjoy, and have a great deal of fun doing, but I don't expect anyone to emulate it.  In fact, many of you will think it is down right weird.

Well, to each his own.

Nevertheless, I have received inquiries as to how I pick so and so book, or why I haven't started so and so book, so I thought some explanation was in order.

I have a notebook where I list every book I have purchased to be read.  I purchase quite a bit, because I love books, and nothing gives me greater pleasure (outside of the usual family and God exceptions) than getting new books.  But I do get them at a faster clip than what I can read.

As I select a book to read, it gets crossed off the list.  Currently, I have 66 books on the list to read.  This includes graphic novels and some science fiction magazines.  I select 10 books to read from the list, and read them in the order that they were selected.

I have dice as an app on my iPhone.  I roll a number, 2 through 12, start at the beginning of the list, and count down that number of unread books on my list. 

I have a rolled a 7.

The first thing I will read is the August 1951 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.  It's from only it's second of publication, a magazine that continues to this day, and I get part of the new ones on my Kindle each month.  This issues features stories by Arthur C. Clarke and Charles Dickens!

My next roll is also 7.

The second thing I will read is the graphic novel Bayou Vol. 2 by Jeremy Love.  It is a fantast story set in the swamps of Louisiana.  It was originally an online digital comic, and this a compilation of that.  The first volume was very well written and illustrated, and I have hopes this one will be the same.

My next roll is 6.

The third book is The Peddler by Richard S. Prather.  It is a book from the Hard Case Crime series, presenting both new classic crime and noir thrillers.  Stephen King has done two of the books in this series, The Colorado Kid and Joyland.  This should be a classic as it was first published in 1952.

My next roll is 4.

The fourth book is The Autocracy of Mr. Parham by H. G. Wells.  I collect as many of H. G. Well's books as I can find, in as early of editions as I can afford,  This one was written in and published in 1930, and that is the year of  the edition I have.  I'm not quite sure what it is about, except Mr. Parham attends a seance, and there is a section of five chapters entitled The Second World War.  1930, mind you!
 
My next roll is 11.

The fifth book is a graphic novel entitled Wonderland by Raven Gregory.  It is another retelling of the Alice In Wonderland story.

My next roll is 7.

The sixth selection is a a graphic novel Catwoman Vol. 2: Dollhouse by Judd Winick and Adriana Melo. It is from DC's New 52 series started two years ago, and represents like their umpteenth version of Catwoman.

My next roll is 9.

The seventh book is Surfacing by Margaret Atwood, an extraordinary writer wh ohas one of her books listed on Entertainment Weekly's list of greatest novels of all time (The Handmaid's Tale).  This is only her second novel done in 1972, and is a psychological thriller set in Northern Quebec.  Oooo la la!

My next roll is 3.

The eighth book is the second part of the Days of Infamy series, End of the Beginning  by Harry Turtledove, an alternate history where at the start of world War II, Japan has successfully invaded and occupied Hawaii.

My next roll is 10

The ninth book is Gone But Not Forgotten by Phillip Margolin, a suspense crime thriller.  I obtained it from Alison's mother, Rose Aldridge, when she was clearing out some books.  It's free!

My final roll is 7.

The final selection is Sleep No More by Greg Iles, suspense thriller that I just see the description "imagine if Rebecca was written by a man."  Hmmm.  Well,, I'll let you know!

Quite a variety this time.  But still no Stephen King yet, of which I'm about three books behind.  Oh, well!  Maybe next draw!

Huzzah!

Until the next ten,

T. M. Strait